This competing renewal of the Postgraduate Training Program in Epithelial Biology, AR07422, aims to continue the postdoctoral training program in skin research begun here in 1981. Preceptor continuities have been sustained, including the P.I., Dr. Khavari, a preceptor for this T32 for 12 years. New developments include 1) Expansion of the Stanford Program in Epithelial Biology: The current T32 comprises the heart of this multi-disciplinary effort. Formed in 2000, the Program has grown to a 50 Stanford faculty member-strong research community from 15 Departments spanning the spectrum of research disciplines. The Program is organized around scientific themes common to skin and other epithelial tissues, including differentiation, morphogenesis, tissue polarity and adhesion, stem cell biology, carcinogenesis, and molecular therapeutics delivery, which, taken together comprise available T32 training foci. Structurally, the T32 faculty is comprised of 9 core preceptors (4 in Dermatology, 5 in other departments), 11 advisory board members drawn from the broader Program in Epithelial Biology and 30 additional members of the Program. 2) Enrichment of the T32 training environment: Embedded among basic science faculty within the center of. the Stanford biomedical research community, the Dermatology labs that lead the T32 have been further enriched by the addition of 12 Ph.D. students, new equipment, core facilities and a new mentoring society for trainees planning a career in skin research, Stanford Velius Scientia. 3) Enhancement of multi-disciplinary institutional resources available to trainees: In addition to the Program in Epithelial Biology, T32 preceptor labs expanded their involvement and leadership in additional multidisciplinary programs, including the new Stanford Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Stanford Program in Cancer Biology, the Stanford Gene Therapy Program, and the Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. 4) Acceleration of the scientific productivity of the Stanford skin research training community: Measured tangibly by published high impact papers, productivity has accelerated, with 17 publications in ISI impact factor >14 journals from the laboratories of the 4 Dermatology core preceptors since 2002. The Stanford Postgraduate Training Program in Epithelial Biology, AR07422, aims to train future leaders in the field of research relevant to human skin disease. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]